FSCC holds line; In a special meeting Wednesday, trustees approve keeping mill levy steady

Posted on August 16, 2012 by angeliquemcnaughton

Thursday, August 16, 2012

By Angelique McNaughton

Fort Scott Community College’s Board of Trustees decided to keep the local mill levy flat during a special budget hearing on campus Wednesday night.

The Fort Scott Community College Board of Trustees dissected the college’s projected 2012-2013 budget during a special budget hearing on Wednesday night. About 20 community members attended the meeting and applauded the board after they voted to keep the local mill levy flat at 25.357 mills.
(Angelique McNaughton/Tribune)

About 20 community members, including Fort Scott Mayor Jim Adams, attended last night’s hearing to determine the amount of local taxes to be levied for the 2012-2013 school year. The board and college administrators spent about an hour breaking down FSCC’s projected budget for audience members.

FSCC officials initially recommended a .637 mill increase for the 2012-2013 budget, but reduced that figure to about half a mill prior to Monday night’s budget hearing. A recent $1.5 million county miscalculation in assessed property valuation for 2012 left the county’s five taxing entities scrambling to re-work their budgets.

Administrators laid out two options for board members on Wednesday — both of which included an increase to the levied amount — explaining to trustees and those attending — that the increases were necessary for the college to continue to operate successfully and efficiently.

College administrators said they are faced with operating increases in every area, including a 12 percent bump in health insurance and a 33 percent hike in worker’s compensation premiums.

In response, community members stressed the rising cost of living and the number of county residents living on a fixed income.

Local businessman Jim Smith said he attended the hearing, not only as a concerned citizen but as a resident concerned about those who are financially less fortunate than him, like his father-in-law.

“I’m not here for me,” Smith said. “I’m 63 and I never thought I would be alive to see times like they are now.”

He said it would be a disservice to raise taxes on people now and suggested placing some of the burden on the college’s other revenue sources — tuition and the federal government.

“Something has to be done; it’s going to be worse in the future,” Smith said. “You have to take a look at personal responsibility. You (students) want an education; it’s something that’s important, but it doesn’t have to be put on the backs of the people out here.”

The college’s local mill levy remained flat from 2004-2011, something that both trustees and administrators say has led to the current situation.

“Expenses go up; revenues go flat,” FSCC President Clayton Tatro said. “At some point something is going to bend.”

Tatro said the community needs to look at its contribution to the college as an investment, not a penalty.

“If there is value in education we have to fund it,” Tatro said. “How do we expect to grow our economy if we don’t educate our workforce?

“The reality is, if we are going to invest in the future, we need to invest in education,” he said.

After considering public comments and statements from administrators, the panel chose to keep the local mill levy flat at 25.357 mills, with $2,321,179.78 in taxes levied for the 2012-2013 school year. The college raised the local mill levy last year more than 2 mills.

The college’s administrators sat quietly, looking almost defeated, following the panel’s decision and the audience reaction.

Dean of Finance and Operations Karla Farmer said the college already runs on a very narrow margin.

“Unfortunately, certain services will be cut,” Farmer said. “Those of us who answer everyday to requests that can’t be met because of the current budget, it will compound that.”

The ones who will face most of the burden, Famer said, will be the students but officials will do their best to make it as “painless as possible.

“I respect the decision of the board and we will operate within the prescribed budget,” she said. “But everything has a cost.”

From both Monday and Wednesday night’s budget hearing, the six-member board cut nearly $80,000 from the college’s total projected budget of about $12 million in total revenue and expenses.

Trustee Jim Fewins said he understands what the administration is tasked with.

“They work pretty hard to get this down and they’ve kept it stagnant,” he said after the hearing. “I want the crowd to understand that we are really looking at this; (we) have looked over this and we are giving up certain things.”

While the audience only represented a small percentage of Bourbon County residents, Fewins said trustees don’t “bow down” to those citizens but consider their opinions.

Fewins said he felt pressure to not raise the mill levy after the Fort Scott City Commissioners voted to keep the city’s mill levy flat at a special meeting Wednesday afternoon. Commissioners voted to cut $75,000 from the general fund instead.

“If we can get through another year … but it’s going to be tough,” Fewins said.

Audience members cheered and applauded the board following its decision.

Gerald Kerr, of Bourbon County, said what the college board did is a “very good thing” because it listened to the people.

“And we’re grateful,” Kerr said. “I want to thank you all. We’re in hard times and the city, the community, the college and the people that work in the city with businesses need to work together. We have to be prudent.”

Error could change local budgets

Posted on August 14, 2012 by angeliquemcnaughton

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

By Angelique McNaughton

An annual state audit revealed a $1.5 million miscalculation in Bourbon County’s assessed property valuation for 2012, affecting projected budgets for five taxing entities, including the county’s.

The clerical error amounted to a higher property valuation for the county, which led to an expected increase in revenue for the coming fiscal year. The city of Fort Scott, United School District 234, Fort Scott Community College, the Southwind Extension District and the county are all impacted and now must re-work their budgets. The county notified the entities of the error by fax around 4:52 p.m. Friday.

“I know that mistakes happen. I think everybody understands that,” Assistant City Manager Susan Brown said during Monday’s Bourbon County Commission meeting. “My biggest concern is in the future how do we keep this from happening so late in the game?”

Fort Scott City Commissioners approved the city’s budget on July 25, setting the mill levy flat at 48.8 mills.

Brown said commissioners are now faced with cutting the budget by $75,000 or raising the mill levy 1.6 mills.

A special meeting of the city commission is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, at City Hall. The purpose of the meeting is to approve the re-publication of the budget.

“Luckily, we still have enough time (that) we can republish,” Brown said. “But is there an audit process internally that we can do with the appraiser’s office to make sure mistakes don’t happen again — at least not as severe as this one was?”

By law, the county is required to submit its assessed valuation totals to the state in July and November. County Clerk Joanne Long said she sent the county’s information to the state around July 15.

“I sent my stuff off to the state, as I do, and they called back on a couple of things,” Long said.

The state audit showed that of the $4 million in personal property machinery and equipment for the county, $1.5 million was in assessed value. When people and businesses in the community were sent rendition forms to assess personal property by the county appraiser’s office in January, local business Valu Merchandisers incorrectly entered information for a trailer causing the county’s personal property to be nearly $4 million higher than this time last year, Long said.

The increase didn’t initially raise any red flags, Long said.

“I have nothing to say about what the county appraiser’s office gave me,” she said.

County Appraiser Judy Wallis was unavailable for comment. An employee with the appraiser’s office said Wallis would return on Friday.

“Everybody fell down on the job on that one,” Long said.

Accountant Terry Sercer, of Diehl, Banwart, and Bolton CPAs, said when he was working the county’s budget it was obvious the personal property had increased, but that was not unusual.

“It wasn’t in real estate … If it was up in real estate, you’d go wait a minute,” Sercer said. “But personal property could be a big business doing something different this year. That’s why I wasn’t as concerned seeing it in the personal property area.”

County Commissioner Allen Warren said from the county’s standpoint, the miscalculation is “not good.” Warren said commissioners were initially hopeful when they saw the valuation increase.

The county’s latest revised budget included a decrease in last year’s local mill levy of about .600 mills.

Now if the county keeps the budget the same as it was a week ago, the projected budget shows the exact opposite — about a half mill increase.

“I’m personally concerned about the impact on the county, but also how the city and schools are affected,” Warren said. “I don’t know what else to say, other than we apologize.”

Fort Scott Community College officials recently recommended the college’s Board of Trustees raise the mill levy for the second year in a row. The suggestion was a .637 mill levy increase. Working on the county’s miscalculation at a Monday night budget hearing, FSCC officials still recommended raising the mill levy, but by a smaller amount than previously suggested.

“I think it’s unfortunate we have to come back in here and re-do this when we worked to get the dollars down,” trustee Jim Fewins said.

After listening to comments from residents and board members, the panel voted to abstain from approving the budget to reconsider it at a special meeting set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, in the Heritage Room of the Administration Building.

Both the city and USD 234 originally planned to keep their mill levies flat.

“One thing we stressed was we were wanting to keep everything the same,” district Business Manager Tiffany Forester said.

During the district’s budget hearing Monday night, USD 234 officials recommended a .479 mill levy increase.

“The new property valuation assessment strains the school’s budget by about $40,200,” Forester said. “If we don’t increase mill levy and keep everything the same … the students are going to be the ones affected.”

Forester said school board members decided to table the budget until it can be revisited during a special meeting set for noon Thursday, Aug. 23.

All local taxing entities must submit their approved budgets to the county clerk by Aug. 25. Considering the county’s miscalculation, Long said the end of the month deadline will be flexible for both the schools and the city.

“I think Susan (Brown) and I both sort of questioned it, but who are we to question the information that was sent to us,” Forester said Monday morning. “… Because it did kind of send up a warning to us, but for us it was good news.”

Commissioners making county budget work

Posted on August 2, 2012 by angeliquemcnaughton

Thursday, August 2, 2012

By Angelique McNaughton

Bourbon County commissioners sat down and discussed several ways to cut expenses from the upcoming fiscal year’s budget and keep the mill levy down during a recent workshop.

Commissioners Allen Warren and Chairman Harold Coleman, minus commissioner Jingles Edincott, who is on vacation until next week, along with County Clerk Joanne Long and accountant Terry Sercer, of Diehl, Banwart, Bolton CPAs, spent more than an hour Monday afternoon discussing where the board could make adjustments to reduce the budget. All department budget requests were submitted to the county last week.

County officials met with some of the department heads to discuss where to make possible cuts without affecting their operations.

“We know what you’re asking for but what can you live without?” Coleman asked.

The revised budget after the workshop shows about a $10.3 million budget, which is slightly higher than last year’s $9.6 million budget, but with a decrease in the local mill levy.

“We’re spending more, but we levied less,” Long said.

County officials slashed approximately $160,894 from the preliminary budget by reducing the amount some county departments requested during the work session.

The Bourbon County Sheriff’s Department originally put in a request for around $558,000 — about $125,00 more than the previous year. But after working with Sheriff Ron Gray, the department’s request was reduced to $518,355 for the coming year.

The projected budget shows about $3.68 million in the county’s general fund, with about a third of that earmarked for the road, bridge and culvert funds.

“I think it looks great,” Long said of the budget on Wednesday. “It includes a cost of living adjustment for all employees and funding for the essential things we have … (the budget is) looking pretty good actually.”

The coming year’s proposed budget includes a 2 percent raise for all county employees and an additional 5 percent raise to recoup the salary reduction department heads agreed to last fiscal year.

About 20 percent of the budget includes $2.4 million in employee benefits and salary increases, which also factors in health insurance and retirement benefits. County employees haven’t had a raise since January 2009, Long said.

“… You’ve got to try and look out for your people because we’re not only making the budget, we’re going to have to pay these taxes, too, before it’s over,” she said. “People only have a finite amount of money, so you can’t tax them to death.

“It’s a balancing act and it’s difficult sometimes,” Long added.

The county has had to steadily raise the local mill levy the last couple of years because the county’s assessed valuation continued to drop. Commissioners raised the tax rate by slightly more than 3 mills last year.

Long said she was nervous prior to working on the budget about what the tax rate would look like this year, afraid trends wouldn’t help and values wouldn’t go up. “But I was pleasantly surprised to see the value was up and we also didn’t spend as much as we thought we were going to, so we had some carryover.”

The county’s assessed valuation, or worth, went up by nearly $2 million this year, which in turn creates more revenue.

Sercer said in a recent email to county officials that he thinks the budget “looks pretty solid right now.”

All the county department heads — about 12 people — start working on the county’s budget in the spring.

Warren said one of his main concerns about the county’s finances was how to reduce cost for tax payers and “still get the job done.

“I think that’s the big one,” Warren said.

Long said she considers all the county’s responsibilities and whether it can meet them.

“What kind of services are we able to provide and are we able to provide all the services that we’ve been (providing) in the past and are there any more that we can do,” she said. “There are all sorts of people that depend on the county for money to run themselves and we need to make sure we can fund everybody.”

The county’s budget must be published 10 days before a scheduled public hearing, which has yet to be set. The budget will be finalized and approved before Aug. 25, Long said.

FSCC could raise mill levy

Posted on August 1, 2012 by angeliquemcnaughton

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

By Angelique McNaughton

Fort Scott Community College trustees got a glimpse of the school’s proposed 2012-2013 budget Monday night, which included a recommendation to raise the local mill levy for the second year in a row.

The board spent almost an hour going through the proposed finances during a work session at FSCC held prior to the college’s regularly scheduled meeting.

FSCC President Clayton Tatro said the session provided an opportunity to “lay out and hash out the budget” with board members. Officials have been working on the budget since February.

Those at the meeting were given documents and graphs outlining revenues and expenditures, including the recommendation for a .637 mill levy increase.

“We’re not making any decisions tonight … (We’re) just hoping to reach some consensus,” Tatro said. “(I) feel good with what we are presenting and why.”

The projected budget shows about $12.3 million in total revenue and expenses. Of that, about $8.4 million is in the college’s general fund; about $3.1 million for technical or vocational education; and a little more than $763,000 for the FSCC truck driving program.

If the board approves the budget, this would mark the second year that FSCC has raised the local mill levy. Last year, it was raised a little more than 2 mills, but from 2004-2011 it stayed flat.

Bourbon County property valuations went up by approximately $1 million this year and FSCC is expecting to generate about $48,000 in revenue because of the increase. If the trustees also approve the mill levy increase, it would generate another $59,000 for the college.

Based on preliminary numbers, about $2.6 million will be generated from Bourbon County taxpayers in 2012-2013. FSCC’s three primary sources of revenue are state, county and student sources, such as tuition.

It was a year without a high number of budget cuts, Tatro said, so it was a “fairly straight forward” year and work session. Tatro said he expects about $307,000 in state funding through the new technical education formula.

“(The year’s) going to be huge in terms of new revenue coming in,” Tatro said in a July 24 interview. “But it’s getting more expensive to do business.”

A $180,000 expense increase to account for the faculty and staff raises agreed upon this year and a 7.5 percent, or about $84,000, increase for the health insurance benefit premium, are among the almost $600,000 in increased expenses officials projected for the coming year.

“(We’ve) got more money coming in and more money going out,” Tatro said.

Trustee Jim Fewins said Tuesday the budget is “pretty well in line” because of work during the past few years to put certain “things into place” that wouldn’t create any financial surprises.

“(We) try and be good stewards of what we put in there,” he said. “From a local standpoint, we want to keep things in balance. We don’t want to make a real burden … I’m a taxpayer myself.”

A former CPA, Fewins said his experience conducting audits gives him a better understanding of the workings of the budget. He said college officials have done “excellent” the last two years in preparing it.

In addition to Tatro, all the school’s deans and an 11-member administration council work on the budget.

“What is best for students without a doubt, that’s a big driver,” Tatro said. “But at the end of the day, our revenue has to match our expenses. You have to set up a budget (and) treat it as if it was your home or business budget and it has to balance.”

College officials work very hard to be effective and efficient, Tatro said. “Students first; community always,” he added. “Kind of a nice driver with the budget as well.”

A budget hearing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Aug. 13 in the Heritage Room in the Administration Building at FSCC, 2801 S. Horton. It is an open meeting. State law requires the budget to be approved by Aug. 15.

“We made some tough decisions … and spent a lot of time on the budget,” he said last week. “And we are exceptionally cognizant of the community in which we live.”

In other business, following the work session, the board approved:

* Officers for the 2012-2013 school year: Myrtle Anne Colum as chairman; Bernita Hill, vice chairman; Karla Jo Farmer, information officer; Kathleen Hinrichs, clerk of the board; Mindy Russell, treasurer; Juley McDaniel, Kansas Public Retirement System (KPERS) representative; Robert Nelson, Kansas Association of Community College Trustees (KACCT) and Council of Presidents representative; and Jim Sather, Greenbush representative.

* The consent agenda which included the following additions: Tommy Hoyt, webmaster; Janet Burke, PEC cosmetology instructor; Michael Brown, wastewater instructor; Trey Pike, assistant football coach; Richard Johnson, assistant football coach; Morgan Beck, IT director.

And the following separations: Cordell Upshaw, assistant football coach; and Megan Myers, HEP administrative assistant.

* Employment and approval of pay benefits for staff and faculty for the upcoming school year.

* An update to the allowable expenses policy. Officials said the purpose of the policy is to “merely comply” with the current Internal Revenue Service regulations.

The next regularly scheduled board meeting is Aug. 13, following the college’s budget hearing at 5:30 p.m.